Department of Rheumatology, Hanyang University Hospital for Rheumatic Diseases, Seoul 133-792, South Korea.
Rheumatol Int. 2013 Jun;33(6):1525-32. doi: 10.1007/s00296-012-2590-2. Epub 2012 Dec 20.
Several studies of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) incidence and prevalence indicate that occurrence of the disease varies significantly among different populations. We aimed to estimate the prevalence and incidence of RA in South Korea. We used Korean National Health Insurance (NHI) claims data to estimate the prevalence of RA in 2007-2009 and the incidence of RA in 2008. On the basis of our previous validation study, the presence of RA was defined by the diagnostic code for RA with biologic or non-biologic disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs in the same claim in each year. To estimate the incidence of RA, we identified cases of RA in 2008 and set the 12-month period prior to 2008 as a disease-free period. Among the incident case of 2008, only patients who continued treatment in 2009 were defined as true incident case of RA in 2008. The corresponding prevalence estimates were 0.26 % (95 % CI 0.25-0.27) in 2006, 0.27 % (95 % CI 0.26-0.28) in 2007, and 0.27 % (95 % CI 0.26-0.28) in 2008. The incidence of RA in 2008 was estimated at 42/100,000 (95 % CI 29.3-54.7) in the general population of South Korea. Data gathered nationwide through the NHI yielded estimates of RA prevalence and incidence in South Korea. This study is the first report of nationwide prevalence and incidence of South Korea and those are comparable to values for other countries in Asia.
几项关于类风湿关节炎（RA）发病率和患病率的研究表明，该疾病在不同人群中的发生情况存在显著差异。我们旨在评估韩国 RA 的患病率和发病率。我们使用韩国国家健康保险（NHI）理赔数据来估计 2007-2009 年 RA 的患病率和 2008 年 RA 的发病率。根据我们之前的验证研究，RA 的存在是通过每年同一份理赔中 RA 的诊断代码以及生物或非生物的疾病修正抗风湿药物来定义的。为了估计 RA 的发病率，我们确定了 2008 年的 RA 病例，并将 2008 年前的 12 个月定为无病期。在 2008 年的新发病例中，只有在 2009 年继续治疗的患者才被定义为 2008 年真正的 RA 新发病例。相应的患病率估计值为：2006 年为 0.26%（95%可信区间 0.25-0.27），2007 年为 0.27%（95%可信区间 0.26-0.28），2008 年为 0.27%（95%可信区间 0.26-0.28）。韩国普通人群 2008 年 RA 的发病率估计为 42/100,000（95%可信区间 29.3-54.7）。通过 NHI 收集的全国性数据得出了韩国 RA 的患病率和发病率的估计值。这项研究是韩国全国 RA 患病率和发病率的首次报告，与亚洲其他国家的值相当。
